Stamppot [Dutch Mash Pot]

A Dutch colleague of mine and blog reader Froukje Wijnsma sent photos and text to be pusblished as a post. It is about one of her favourite Dutch meals: stamppot, which literally means "Mash Pot". It consists of preparing a potato mash and adding vegetables (generally endive). It accompanies meat or smoked sausage. So simple is that. It is wonderful traditional comfort food, especially adored by the Dutch during winter months.

Some variations of stamppot:

mashed potatoes with apples (called "Hete bliksem")

with spinach, bacon and pine nuts

with white sour kale: "zuurkoolstamppot"

"Hutspot" : with carrots and onions. In Belgium it is called "stoemp"

"Hawai" stamppot: a mashed pot of potatoes where you add pieces of pineapple, apple and paprikas served with barbecued chicken. Sometimes people add also corn to the pot.

Salm stamppot: baked white endives are mixed to cooked potatoes, raw filet of salm, creme fraiche and dill.

Now, back to Franka's contribution...
Here below I copied ipsis literis her text which was sent to me by e-mail:

"Anita, the first picture I am sending to you is of my new kitchen. How do you like it ?

I make this stamppot usually when I have some people coming over for dinner and I do not have much time to prepare a meal in advance. But it is also very handy, if you have lot of people coming over, making it in advance and just warming it up in the microwave before serving.

I prepared it this time with cooked meat (stoofvlees) but you can also eat it with meat balls or Dutch smoked sausages instead.

For this stamppot you need: bacon, onions, mushrooms, endive and mashed potatoes. And optionally some cream-cheese to give a special texture to the dish.

I start frying the bacon and then I add the chopped onions and mushrooms.

When that is all well-done and golden brown, you then add the washed and dried endive - otherwise the stamppot gets too wet. I just stir-fry the endive and then you add the mashed potatoes.

It is better to make the mashed potatoes a bit dry, for the endive still leaves some juice and it makes the stamppot more tasteful. Add a spoon of creamcheese, salt and pepper.